In the rich Speedway Rider nursery of the Hunter
Valley, there is a groundswell of young Solo talent that is screaming out to
the rest of the world for recognition. One young gun who will rise to the fore, given a
little encouragement and further support....not to mention a touch of luck, is Dean Wiseman.

Dean looks at home on a speedway bike, has a tremendous style,
oozes confidence while on the limit, and can win from behind, but an injury from a nasty
accident at a vital time of his career has slowed progress somewhat.

The nineteen year olds comeback after that horror crash has
been peppered with annoying mechanical failures, lack of race opportunities and touches of
brilliance. Deans last meeting in early June of 2000 at Gosford gave patrons a
glimpse of what he can achieve as he diced with, and beat the master of the
Showground, Mick Poole.

Dean will use that good finish along with fresh machinery as a
springboard into the new 2001 season, and if all goes well, will no doubt be doing his own
screaming.....................

Dean, for those who are not familiar with your background, tell us a bit
about your introduction to speedway and your progression through to the senior ranks? :...After competing in junior dirt track for 5 yrs, I was introduced
to junior speedway after Geoff Watson (father of Craig ) saw me race in the 80cc dirt
track class at an indoor speedway meeting. Geoff contacted a friend of a friend, organized
and paid for me to do a junior speedway license test and then lent me the riding gear to
race. Over the 3 years that I competed as a junior, he also built and supplied me with two
bikes. The Watson families help and generosity is what helped me enjoy the sport and carry
onto senior racing.

How do you personally feel your '99-2000
season went compared to previous seasons? : ...I had a shocker !. I suffered my first ever
injury that kept me off my bike for over 5 months. A lousy broken wrist was the result
from a horror crash at the Labrador track which not only saw mea bit broken, but included my bike,
my helmet and of course my suit had to be cut off me...so it proved to be an expensive
crash.

It then took me ages to get my racing
head back on...I really only felt like my old self again on the bike at this years
Australian U/21 championships in Tamworth. I blew up my Jawa engine a couple of meetings
later and then tried out a borrowed GM that just wanted to let me down all the time. So
yeah, the 99/2000 season hasn't been real kind to me.

In what areas do you feel you could improve?

...Well if I have to be honest, I must admit my
race preparation could do with some work. I have a bad habit of leaving things to the last
minute and then stressing a lot on race day. My starts are also pretty lousy and I really
need to improve in that area as well.

What would be your speedway goals for the
coming 2000-01 season.

...I just want to get out there, steer clear of injuries
and keep my bike running smooth. If I can do that I should have a good season.

What improvements could be made to the sport
of speedway in your area, where riders like yourself can progress?

...More race meetings, thats the bottom line. I
don't get any extra time on my bike apart from race meetings.

I'm licensed through the
Hunter Motorcycle club and theyve not long put a speedway track in at Barleigh Ranch
where they run a couple of meetings which is good, but in the past I've only had Gosford
ten or eleven times a season to ride at, or sometimes I would make the trek up to the Gold
Coast to ride.

What future aspirations would you
like to aim for in the sport? ...Id like to do a lot better than I have in the past. At our own Ozzie U/21
titles this year, there was some really strong competition and I seemed to meet every top
rider and sometimes two in each event. I just couldnt get a shoe in all night. Four
seconds and a third placing kept me just outside the top four qualifying places for
the Final. I know I can do better.

You recently scooped more awards at
the Gosford Speedway presentation night, as you have a long association with the track as
a rider, do you have any thoughts on the new direction of Gosford under the new
promoters?.

...Yeah over the years the promoter Terry Poole did
a top job, but now that has been taken over by David Tapp. I think the meetings will be a
lot bigger and sometimes better than ever. I've heard Tappy is bringing over a lot of
international riders and that can only be good for the sport if riders like myself can get
the chance to race with them.

Are you, as a top flight senior rider, excited by the way Speedway has really
taken off in Europe and the U.K. since the inception of the Speedway G.P.s, and also
the television coverage of the International and Domestic Leagues overseas?.

...I'm lucky my mum loves the sport too so she got
pay TV put on at home and I've been able to catch a lot of the series. It's good to see
other Australians competing, knowing that if they can do it, then someday I might have the
chance as well.

Who would you like to thank for your Speedway
career thus far?

...Well I would very much like to thank the Watson
family for getting me involved in the first place, my mechanic since turning senior Pat
Kelly, Dad for keeping the money coming in, my Mum who has driven me to almost every
meeting I've ever ridden at (whether I wanted her too or not ), my mates who take it in
turns to come along and give me my push starts, and a lot of the older riders who have
been there done that, and don't mind giving advice and a helping hand.